Spring Break
One fraternity member shares his story
Abbey Way
Issue date: 4/23/09 Section: Features
Spencer Barrick is one of nine fraternity brothers who lost their home in the Sigma Phi Epsilon annex fire on Jan. 30, but memories of the night still remain in the junior's mind.
In the wake of the electrical fire that tore through the house, rebuilding plans are under way. The new house could be finished by next fall, but in all, 13 people made it out safely from the Fifth Street building with only minor injuries reported.
The blaze is just one chapter of what the All-American javelin-thrower describes as a "pretty good action story."
It has been a tough couple of years for Barrick, who competed spectacularly for the ECU track and field team last year, despite a shoulder injury that required surgery a few months before the fire.
When the fire alarm went off, Barrick thought, "not again," thinking it was just another in a series of false alarms.
But he soon realized that this was different.
"I saw flames and smoke on the roof," said Barrick. "Smoke just hit me as I opened the bedroom door, and I couldn't go down the stairs or through the bathroom, so I had to jump off of the roof."
Barrick landed on a car, suffering only a minor knee injury.
However, that was just the beginning.
As Barrick stood on the ground outside the burning house, Tricia Marciani, another ECU junior, stood on the roof. She jumped into Barrick's arms.
Two others were still trapped inside and Barrick remembered that a queen-size mattress that could be used as a cushion had been stored in a shed behind the house.
"It was an adrenaline rush," Barrick said. "I was carrying a mattress over my head running full speed."
But Barrick wasn't done yet.
"I saw three firefighters carrying a fire hose from down the street, and I saw my house burning down, so I ran down Fifth Street in boxers and socks and helped them pull the hose," Barrick said. "I felt like I could have lifted up a car if I had to."
Barrick recalls he and his fraternity brothers sitting around after the fire, filled with emotions and thankful for their lives.
In the wake of the electrical fire that tore through the house, rebuilding plans are under way. The new house could be finished by next fall, but in all, 13 people made it out safely from the Fifth Street building with only minor injuries reported.
The blaze is just one chapter of what the All-American javelin-thrower describes as a "pretty good action story."
It has been a tough couple of years for Barrick, who competed spectacularly for the ECU track and field team last year, despite a shoulder injury that required surgery a few months before the fire.
When the fire alarm went off, Barrick thought, "not again," thinking it was just another in a series of false alarms.
But he soon realized that this was different.
"I saw flames and smoke on the roof," said Barrick. "Smoke just hit me as I opened the bedroom door, and I couldn't go down the stairs or through the bathroom, so I had to jump off of the roof."
Barrick landed on a car, suffering only a minor knee injury.
However, that was just the beginning.
As Barrick stood on the ground outside the burning house, Tricia Marciani, another ECU junior, stood on the roof. She jumped into Barrick's arms.
Two others were still trapped inside and Barrick remembered that a queen-size mattress that could be used as a cushion had been stored in a shed behind the house.
"It was an adrenaline rush," Barrick said. "I was carrying a mattress over my head running full speed."
But Barrick wasn't done yet.
"I saw three firefighters carrying a fire hose from down the street, and I saw my house burning down, so I ran down Fifth Street in boxers and socks and helped them pull the hose," Barrick said. "I felt like I could have lifted up a car if I had to."
Barrick recalls he and his fraternity brothers sitting around after the fire, filled with emotions and thankful for their lives.
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